Yoruba Proverb Treasury-gctid23042

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Àbúrò r[ch7865] [ch324]dá[ch7779][ch7885] fún [ch7885], o ní o ò lo elékuru; ta ní [ch324]lo alákàrà?

Your junior brother (or sister) buys clothing for you, and you say you will not wear anything with bean-grits patterns; who has the right to opt for clothing with a bean-fritter patterns?
(One should act in accordance to one's station in life.) [14]
Compare E[ch803]ni tí a bá [ch324]dá[ch7779][ch7885] fún kì í ka èèwö[ch768][ch803].

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

A-dá-má-lè-[ch7779]e àdàbà tí [ch324]dún bè[ch803]m[ch768]bè[ch803].

Start-something-it-cannot-finish dove that makes bombastic noises.
(Bombast often masks fickleness.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adì[ch7865] funfun ò m[ch7885] ara è[ch803] lágbà.

The white chicken does not recognize itself as an elder.
(One should act one's age always.) [15]

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adì[ch7865] ò bí y[ch7885]y[ch7885] kú yo[ch768][ch803].

A chicken does not give birth to a multitude of chicks and die of the exertion.
(Children should not be the death of their parents.) [16]

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adìé[ch803] tó [ch7779]u tí kò to[ch768][ch803], ara-a rè[ch803] ló kù sí.

The chicken that shits and does not piss retains the rest in its body.
(Self-deprivation hurts the person concerned, not anyone else.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

A-dìtan-mo[ch769][ch803] èsúó; ó ní èkùlù ló bí ìyá òun.

The red-flanked duiker, desperate to claim relationship, says that its mother was born of a crested duiker.
(Never make preposterous claims of kinship.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adígbo[ch769][ch803]nránkú [ch324]fikú [ch7779]eré.

Death-feigning-beetle flirts with death.
(If one persists in flirting with disaster, disaster is liable to befall one.) [17]

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adé[ch803]tè[ch803]é[ch803] ní òun ò lè fún wàrà, [ch7779]ùgbo[ch769][ch803]n òún lè yí i dànù.

The leper says he may not be able to squeeze out milk, but he can spill it.
(Even feckless people can cause some damage.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adé[ch803]tè[ch803]-é[ch803] rí wèrè, ó kán lùgbé[ch803].

The leper sees a mad person and dashes into the bush.
(A person who should be ostracized ostracizes others.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adé[ch803]tè[ch803]-é[ch803] so[ch768][ch803]ro[ch768][ch803] méjì, o[ch769][ch803] fìkan puro[ch769][ch803]; ó ní nígbàtí òún lu [ch7885]m[ch7885] òun lábàrá, òún já a léèékánná pàtì.

The leper said two things, one of them being a lie; he said after he had struck his child with his palm, he also pinched him severely with his nails.
(One fools only oneself when one claims to have done the impossible.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Adití ò gbo[ch769][ch803], "Yàgò!"

The deaf does not hear,"Make way!"
(Cautionary words are lost on reckless people.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

À-fà-tiiri ni tìyàwó; bí a bá fà á tí kò tiiri, ó ní ohun tó [ch324][ch7779]e é.

Resisting-while-being-pulled is the proper behavior for a bride; if she is pulled and she does not resist, something is the matter with her.
(However eager the bride, she must appear coy and shy; one should behave with decorum appropriate to one's position.)

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

Àfi ohun tí a kì í tà lo[ch769][ch803]jà l[ch7865]rú kì í j[ch7865].

The only thing a slave cannot eat is something not available in the market.
(A slave has no choice.)